


Fates of the Frontline

by RobinsLittleSister



Category: Original Work
Genre: Advanced Idea Mechanics, Airbending & Airbenders, Alcohol, Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alien Technology, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Awkward Romance, Drama & Romance, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Elemental Magic, Eventual Romance, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone is stupidly oblivious, F/F, F/M, Firebending & Firebenders, Fluff and Angst, Forgive Me, Future Fic, Gay, Help, I Don't Even Know, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Fiction, Original Universe, Originally Posted Elsewhere, POV Original Character, Romance, Slow Romance, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Technology, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Underage Drinking, Waterbending & Waterbenders, What Have I Done, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2019-09-13 17:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16897089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsLittleSister/pseuds/RobinsLittleSister
Summary: It's been 20 years since the super-eruption that turned nearly half of Earth into a wasteland. After Yellowstone, world leaders came together in hopes of protecting their species. Their final decision was to create five domes spread around the world. What was left of humanity and the animals were gathered and taken into the domes.Now it's 3497 and they're no closer to fixing their planet, food is running out and there're more homeless now than ever. But on the bright side, they've invented technology for space travel further than the Kuiper Belt.A team of professionals and four unqualified idiots are chosen to find a suitable planet habitable for humans.For once everyone on Earth has the same opinion.Lord have mercy on them if their leaders are suddenly putting their faith in three high school students and a single college student.Tags edited as the story develops.





	Fates of the Frontline

**Author's Note:**

> It's nearly impossible to read this without showing the creator's style. Just a fyi!

_Her palm was sweaty when it was grasped by the man in front of her. He yanked her off the street and into an alleyway, safely away from the stampede of people they thought their friends._  
_"What are you doing? We have to leave!" She cried, desperately tugging him back towards the street. "We must board an evacuation ship before it's too late!"_  
_He smiled, shaking his head. "My dear I promise you we'll be alright. Follow me, I have a plan."_  
_She hesitated. Never had he wronged her, she had no reason to doubt his word. Without further argument, she followed him._  
________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

Derek  
  
**Today** 3:21 PM  
No  
**Today** 3:26 PM  
Wym no?  
I mean no, you're not going to this "Operation Fallout"

Emily scoffed and brought the coffee mug to her lips. “Derek’s completely lost his mind.”

Brandon leaned forward, elbows on the table. “When hasn’t he? What’re you two arguing about this time?”

It's too dangerous. And you don't even 100% know what you're looking for out there.

“I was assigned the head engineer for this Operation Fallout thing. Basically, I’m being sent out into space for an unknown amount of time in search of some cure for our dying planet, or some other place to move to.” Emily looked up from her phone. “But Derek doesn’t think I should go, says it’s too dangerous.”

“Well, he has a point Em. It does sound dangerous, but if you don’t go on this mission then who knows what could happen without the star engineer of the century.” Brandon smiled.  
Emily shook her head, a smile gracing her lips. “Yeah, if only Derek saw the same outlook as you.”

You can't exactly stop me, you know? Der I was ordered to do this. Ordered. It's not like I have much choice, and either way it's to save humanity. You seriously saying you're putting my health over the entire planet's?  
  
Yes

Emily scoffed. Sometimes she really hated Derek’s possessiveness over her. But she couldn't blame him either.

  
I'm not aruging with you over this. I love you and I'll see you at home in an hour.

The cafe door opens. Andrew and Max are walking towards Emily and Brandon. Andrew looks rather disappointed.  


“Who spit on your day?” Emily looked up at the blonde boy.  


Andrew scooted into the booth next to Emily. “I had a date today, but Keagan had to cancel because of work or some other gibberish I didn't actually understand.”  


Max scooted into the booth next to Brandon, grabbing his latte and chugging it. “I offered to go on the date with him, but he rejected me.”  


Brandon stole his latte back from the brunette. “Maybe because you both are gay, and therefore it wouldn’t be much of a date.”

Love you too.

The message was short, emotionless. It was clear he was frustrated, but Emily didn’t know what to do to fix that. She had no choice but to go onto the stupid mission, it was the captain’s orders.  


Emily turned her phone off. She’d deal with it later.  


Even after living in the apartment for a year with Derek, Emily still can’t get used to it. Before she’d lived on her own, and Derek had lived upstairs with his ex-fiance.  


Derek was on the couch when Emily stepped into their one-bedroom apartment. His bangs were pulled back with a headband, and he wore sweats. Emily easily recognized it as his relaxing outfit, which usually meant he wasn’t going out again.  


“Are you still going to Ixester with me?” Emily left her purse and keys on the table and walked up to the back of the couch.  


Derek nodded. “Yeah, I just didn’t feel like staying in my work clothes while waiting for you to get back.”  


Emily smiled and leaned down to kiss him. “Okay, good. It’d be lovely to sleep in a bed without you.”  


He smiled up at her. “I was thinking the same thing.” He pushed himself up off the couch and stretched. “I’ll go get dressed.”  


She nodded and pulled out her phone to text Brynn.

Brynista  
  
**Today** 5:20 PM  
We're about to leave. What's for dinner?  
  
dad's grillin hamburgers and hotdogs  
  
mom was gonna make roast beef but kynlee kept tryin to bargain with her bout cookies n homework so she gave up and is now just helpin kynlee with math  
  
Sounds like a disater ...Mom sucks at math  
tell me bout it im pretty sure luis could do math better than mom rn  
If Kynlee still needs help when we get there then I'll have Derek or myself help her.  
sounds good  
**Read** 5:29 PM

Derek walked out of the bedroom, changed out of his sweats and into light jeans, a dark t-shirt, and a dark jacket.  


Emily looked up from her phone. “Ready?”  


Derek nodded and presented his girlfriend with a bag. “Got the overnight clothes.”  


Emily turned back to the door and grabbed her purse and keys off the table. “Then off on an adventure we go!”  


Compared to the trip from Clirie to Vlosa, going from Vlosa to Ixester was much shorter. Emily never understood the placement of the domes, especially from an engineering perspective, but she had learned a while ago it was better not to question the higher-ups. Especially if she wanted a successful life and career in this society.  


When Derek pulled up to the house the lawn was littered with bikes of different colors and designs.  


“Are they trying to get them stolen?” He asked as he turned the car off and unbuckled himself.  


Emily shrugged and got out of the car. “That’s always how they are. You should know this by now.”  


Derek muttered something under his breath as he got out of the car and followed Emily up the pathway to the front door.  


When the couple stepped through the front door they were greeted by a brunette sixteen-year-old shoving past them and laughing. Following close behind was a short thirteen-year-old with lighter brown hair, brows furrowed and a frown set on her lips.  


“Sasha get back here so I can murder you!” Everett shouted at her older sister.  


Emily lets the two pass her before turning to Brynn on the couch, feeding Alice a jar of green bean baby food. “Alice!” She gasped and rushed over to the five-month-old baby.  


Alice squealed the moment she saw her aunt and reached out for her.  


Brynn glared up at her little sister. “Really? I was trying to feed her.”  


Emily picked Alice up from her seat in front of Brynn and plucked the jar of green mush from Brynn’s hand. “I’ll feed her for you. I missed my baby.”  


“Your baby?” Michael stepped into the room, two mugs in hand. He narrowed his eyes at Emily.  


Emily nodded cheekily and squeezed past him into the kitchen. “Yup. Alice is my sweet, sweet baby. You already have two kids, I want this one.”  


“You can have a kid of your own when you push it out of your vagina!” Brynn called from the living room.  


Derek snorted. “With her work schedule, she’ll never have that dream.” He followed his girlfriend into the kitchen where Kynlee and Jada were sat at the kitchen table.  


“I can’t do it!” Kynlee whined, throwing her pencil on the table and locking her arms across her chest. “You suck as a teacher!”  


Next, to the eleven-year-old, Jada sighed and looked up to Emily and Derek. “Will one of you two help Kynlee with her homework?”  


“Der that’s your job. I have a baby to feed,” Emily cooed as she sat Alice into the highchair and pulled a chair over in front of it.  


Jada stood up and moved so Derek could have her chair. “Thank you, Derek. Sometimes I question if you’re more helpful than Emily.”  


Derek snorted. “I question the same sometimes.”  


Emily turned and glared at the two. “Excuse me but I go out and help create some amazing evolutionary tech for your information.”  


“Right, right. I’m sorry sweetie, how could we forget?” Jada smiled innocently at her daughter before she went out the back door.  


“Alright, squirt, let’s see what this homework’s all about.” Derek scooted to the table and slid the piece of paper closer to him.  


Time passed easily at the kitchen table. Emily fed Alice the rest of the green mush and even half a jar of banana baby food. The other half she ate herself, banana baby food tasted really good. Derek wound up doing most of Kynlee’s homework, a fact he wasn’t exactly happy about, but he had no patience for the dramatic pre-teen.  


By the time Emily had Alice cleaned up and the food jars thrown away, Jada was screaming from the back doorway for dinner.  


The large family crammed themselves out back and around the three picnic tables, Alice sat on Michael’s lap eating his mashed potatoes. Though it was probably more accurate to say she was beating his mashed potatoes.  


Michael grabbed a napkin and wiped the mashed potatoes off his daughter's hands, scolding her for playing with the food. But what Michael seemed to forget was that Alice was only four months old, and therefore most likely didn’t understand what he was talking about.  


That assumption was quickly backed up when Michael let go of her hands and she went straight back to smacking the mashed potatoes.  


“Mom! Everett’s on her phone!” Sasha pointed to her sister next to her. “Does that mean I can be on my phone too?”  


Jada frowned at the two. “Everett put the phone up, you know the rules. Sasha no you cannot be on your phone when at the dinner table.”  


Amani looked over at Emily, who was frowning while typing away at her phone. “But Em’s on her phone. Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?”  


Emily’s head shot up like a bullet.  


“Emily get off your phone. You haven’t been away long enough to forget my household rules.” Jada frowned at her second oldest daughter.  


The girl in question shook her head. “No, I know. It’s something work-related, I’ll get off it in a second.” She finished typing the rest of her message before putting her phone back in her pocket.  


Jada eyed the girl for a second more before continuing to eat her dinner.  


“How is your work going Em?” Eric asked after swallowing his mouthful of rice.  


Emily looked up at her step-dad. “It’s going good. Me and Keagan recently finished building and testing a ship that’s capable of going out past the Kuiper Belt.”  


Derek looked down at his plate, pushing his food around.  


“That’s great! Maybe with that, we’ll be able to upgrade the technology upholding these domes, make it more efficient.” Eric smiled at his step-daughter.  


Brent rolled his eyes. “What could possibly fix our current lifestyle? I thought it was pretty evident by now that we’re all doomed. Let’s face it, we’re just on borrowed time. The outcome at this point is death.”  


Jada glared at her son. “Brent now you don’t bring that kind of talk anywhere near this family. You can talk about whatever you want with your friends, you know that. But when you are here you will watch your language.”  


Everett whistled and looked away, eating her hamburger quietly. No one tried to bring up their situation around their Momma. Unless you wanted a mouth full of soap.  


Jada smiled at Amani. “Amani, did you finish your homework?”  


Amani looked to her mom. “Yeah, at school.”  


Jada nodded and turned to her younger children. “And the rest of you?”  


They all nodded.  


“Good.”  


Emily sighed. “Ah, I really don’t miss the homework.”  


Brynn and Damien snorted.  


“What homework? You always made one of us do it so you could help Eric at Accenco,” Brynn pointed a fork with a green bean on it at Emily.  


Damien swallowed his sweet tea and nodded. “Bri’s got a point Em. You almost never did your work.”  


“Lies!” Emily proclaimed. “I did my math homework.”  


Brynn and Damien laughed.  


“Yeah, your math. What about the other three subjects?” Damien shook his head.  


Emily shrugged and looked away from the two. “It never interested me. Working at Accenco was much better. Besides, now I’m an outstanding engineer at just twenty. So how’s that to show for skipping all that homework?”  


Eric nodded. “She has a point. Some people would call her a prodigy due to her being so excelled at engineering and technology.”  


“Don’t help her make excuses Eric.” Jada smacked her husband’s shoulder. “I told you thousands of times that she needed more time out of the workshop and more time at a desk studying. But did you ever listen? No.”  


Emily gaped at her mother with mock offense. “I’m sorry Mom, but I believe I spent enough time at a desk studying. Do you know how many textbooks I read to learn all the vocab and crap I know now about engineering and how to put space ships and weapons together?”  


“She has a point,” Derek stuck up for her. “She has two bookshelves full of books about engineering and other tech stuff.”  


Jada gave Derek the look. The look that told him to butt out before he regretted it. “She should’ve been studying for her classes.”  


Amani sipped her orange juice. “Who cares? It was years ago, she’s got a great life and spends like six hours of her day on a train going between domes.”  


Emily raised her glass. “Ain’t that the truth. I swear if I could I’d live the rest of my days in Fulbus in my workshop.”  


Derek rolled his eyes. “Except I’m not moving to Fulbus.”  


“Yet.” Emily smiled at Derek cheekily, as if the decision had already been made.  


Everett furrowed her brows. “What’s so wrong with Fulbus?”  


Emily grabbed the ketchup bottle. “Most of his income is from hacking jobs, and he often goes to Clirie for that same reason. So he doesn’t want to make that transportation and, to add onto it, living in Fulbus would make it easier for him to get caught.”  


Jada narrowed her eyes. “You aren’t doing anything illegal, right?”  


Derek shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t put Em in danger like that.”  


Emily snorted. “Right, that’s why you go to Clirie.”  


Derek kicked her ankle under the table. “I’m not doing anything illegal. It’s just odd jobs, not even real hacking.”  


Jada didn’t look convinced but decided to leave the topic alone for the time being. The less she knew the safer her family would be.  


The rest of dinner passed quietly. The family chatted amongst themselves while Marcus, Luis, and Kynlee ran around and played in the backyard.  


After dinner, it was time for everyone to settle down. Eric and Jada cleaned up from dinner while Michael bathed Marcos and Luis in the bathroom, and Brynn washed Alice in the sink.  


Emily and Derek pulled out the mattress to the living room and dumped armfuls of pillows and blankets for them, Michael and Brynn to use.  


Afterward, the two got comfortable on the recliner, Emily snuggled on Derek’s lap. Derek tried to watch the news, but Emily snatched the remote from him and turned on late-night cartoons.  


Eric walked into the room and grabbed the remote from the end table, changing it to the eleven-o-clock news.  


“I was watching that.” Emily pouted.  


Eric shrugged. “Now you’re not.”  


Derek snorted as Jada walked into the room and sat down next to Eric on the loveseat.  


“Just this morning another death sentence was carried out. A Piper Ramsay was escorted outside the domes at approximately 8:36 AM. She was declared guilty two months ago for the murder of two children ages 10 and 13.”  


Jada scowled at the female reporter. “Why do they report this crap? No one needs to know who killed who and when they were sentenced to death. I mean seriously, why would they give these monsters attention? They should just lock them in jail and throw away the key.”  


Eric and Emily rolled their eyes.  


“Mom it’s just the news. Due to all the criminal activity and lack of space in the domes, they have no more space to hold criminals. This is just how the world works now, just ignore it.” Emily leaned her head against Derek’s shoulder.  


Jada crossed her arms and shuffled in her seat. “Before the domes, nearly no one used the death sentence.”  


“That was before the domes.” Eric grabbed his wife’s hand and kissed her cheek. “It’ll get better eventually sweetie, I promise you.”  


They all wished he was right. They didn’t have much else to hope, and when facing more problems than fixes hope is the only thing that keeps you sane.  


“In other news, President Bates held a press release earlier today with Commander Henry Wilcox. In this press release, they stated that their top engineers, Emily Faith, and Keagan Myers, recently finished a project that would supposedly allow living beings out beyond the Kuiper Belt. Commander Wilcox went on to explain that, if their testing in the next two weeks were successful, then they would launch an exploration with a team of their most qualified professionals to find another habitable planet for humanity.”  


Emily felt Derek tense under her and internally cursed the news lady forever bringing that up. Even more, she cursed Wilcox for having a press release about that.  


“Wow Em, congrats on that.” Damien smiled at his little sister. “That’s probably your greatest feat yet.”  


Next, to him, Brynn nodded. “Yeah Em. Dad will be so ecstatic when I tell him about it tomorrow. Maybe you should tag along with me, so you can tell him yourself. He really misses your help at the shop you know.”  


Emily clutched Derek’s hand and played with his fingers. “Actually,” She looked away from her family. “Dad already knows. And, there’s more to that.”  


“More?” Jada knew when one of her children were hiding something. Emily’s tell was when she fiddled with something. Most usually it was her clothes or hair.  


Emily nodded. “That mission they were talking about. I was assigned the head engineer to go on that ship. I talked to Dad about it the moment I heard.”  


Eric was the only one who seemed happy for her. The moment he heard the news his face lit up like the fourth of July. “That’s great Em! I told you all your hard work would pay off over the years.”  


Jada smacked her husband’s leg. “Eric!”  


“What?” Eric looked at Jada confused. “She just got the mission of a lifetime. Am I not supposed to be happy for her?”  


“She’s going outside the solar system, where no living being has ever been to before, in search of another habitable planet. Do you not see the danger in that? Our daughter could die out there!”  


Damien shook his head. “Calm down Mom. This is probably why she told Dad before you. This is her job, remember? And whether we like it or not, she has to do it. Right?” He looked to Emily for reassurance.  


Emily nodded, but still refused to meet anyone’s eyes.  


Derek tapped on Emily’s thigh. “Move for a minute, I need a smoke.”  


Emily pulled herself from Derek’s lap and followed him outside. “I want one.”  


When they stepped out onto the front porch he offered her a cigarette and lit it for her.  


“You lied didn’t you?”  


She looked up at him. “What?”  


Derek pinched a cancer stick between his lips and lit it. “About having to go. You lied.” He shoved the lighter back in his pocket and held the cigarette between his fingers. “You weren’t just the lead engineer on that build, Keagan was too. They wouldn’t have just made you go without Keagan.”  


Emily looked down at the concrete. “Yeah. I was offered to go on the trip, but I could’ve easily said no.”  


“Why didn’t you?”  


“I almost did. I did at first, told Wilcox that I had too much to live for here. But then I thought about Keagan or any other engineer he would’ve assigned to the job. Keagan and Andrew are just getting together, and he’s helping out with Maleah. I didn’t want to, no...I couldn’t put him in that position. I’ve had the training, I’ve been doing this a lot longer than Keagan has. When I imagined him going on that mission, leaving Andrew, Maleah and everyone else here without knowing if he was going to make it back alive. I couldn’t let him do that.”  


Derek turned to Emily. “So you’re okay with leaving everyone here without knowing if you’re going to make it back?”  


Emily shook her head. “I’m going to make it back. I know I will, I have to. If I don’t, then that might as well be me throwing everyone else’s lives down the drain too.”  


Derek sighed and took a puff from his cigarette. “That’s just like you Em. Always putting way too much on your shoulders.”  


Emily smiled up at him. “Hey, it’s fine. If it gets too heavy I’ll just build something to hold it for me.”  


Derek laughed and wrapped an arm around her. “I’d really rather you not go alone, or not go at all. I’m not you, I don’t care if Keagan or whoever goes in your place.”  


“I know you don’t.” Emily smiled and cupped his face. “That’s what I love and hate about you. But I have to do this.”  


A moment passed of Derek and Emily looking into each other’s eyes. But the mood was ruined when Derek let out a breath and laid his forehead on her shoulder.  


“So much for me telling you not to go. Huh?”  


Emily laughed and pulled his face up to kiss him. He tasted like bitter cigarettes, though she bet she tasted the same.  


When the two came back inside Jada was missing.  


“Where’s Mom?” Emily looked to her older siblings.  


Brynn pointed to the kitchen. “Calling Dad.”  


Emily rolled her eyes and lead Derek back to the recliner. She’d learned a while ago not to butt into their arguments. It was just wasted energy.  


“This is why I never turn the news on while Mom’s home,” She muttered under her breath as she got comfortable on Derek’s lap again.  


Derek wrapped his arms around her. “What am I? Your personal cushion?”  


“Don’t act like you hate it.” Emily turned her head just so and kissed his forehead.  


“PDA!” Damien called out, jutting a finger at the lovey-dovey couple.  


Derek and Emily both flipped him off.  


“Walter we can’t let her go there! Speak with your mother, she’s close with the president. Surely she can convince them to send somebody else!” Jada exclaimed from the kitchen.  


Emily rolled her eyes. “Why can’t Mom butt out of my decisions for once in her life?”  


“She’s your mother, she just wants for you to be safe,” Eric stood up for Jada. “Whether that be what you want or not.”  


“Emily doesn’t want to go on this mission. She said herself earlier, she’d rather be in her workshop all day!”  


“Okay, now she’s just taking my words out of context.” Emily glared at the doorway to the kitchen.  


Eric stood up and handed the remote off to Derek. “I’m going to trade places with Michael to put the kids to bed. I’ll take your mother with me.”  


Emily praised Eric internally. “Thank you, Eric!”  


Eric nodded before walking into the kitchen to drag his wife upstairs.  


Damien looked over at his little sister. “Do you really want to go on this trip?”  


Emily stayed quiet for a minute before she finally decided on, “I don’t have a choice.”  


That night Derek held Emily just a bit closer. And if Emily held him just as tight, and just as close, well, neither brought it up the next morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This chapter is under betaing currently, the betaed version will be up by nightfall.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
